To look at these photos you would never for one minute guess that shortly after they were taken, I was in the middle on an epic hours-long thunderstorm with lightening all around me and crashing booms banging in my ears – not to mention torrential rain that turned the trail into a river.

Yeah – and it lasted for hours.

So, I started hiking on a beautiful sunny day. Happily I saw tons of baby toads (tiny little things) on the lower reaches of the trail. After two hours up, I stopped on a bluff for a nice lunch (last photo) and then continued. Half an hour later came the first crash.

And then another.

And I stood there for a good twenty minutes thinking, “Well – it will probably just pass. I can keep going.”

After the fifth thunderous crash, I put on my pack cover and rain jacket and headed down. Damn good thing too. I would not have been in a good spot on an open ridge in that weather.

And so I am back.

Disappointed?

Yes. But also comfortable knowing I did the right thing. And it’s okay.

Plan B.

There is always a Plan B. ( and often an C and a D)

And it’s very nice and somehow comforting knowing that someone cared about where I was and how I was and that there was someone to talk to and to tell that I was safe.